Search the Community

Yeah I heard that immediately after the surgery you lose a lot of weight. I'm hoping they do a lot to help me keep that weight off. My goals are realistic and manageable so that I don't fail I could try to get to under 200 pounds and live for 10 years longer but it's like I want to set a realistic and achievable goal so 300 pounds is good. Then when I hit that and keep that off maybe I can go down to 250 and keep it there. I haven't been 250 pounds in a very, very long time. I had to have been in my late teens early 20s the last time i was 250 pounds. So either weight would be very good. My doctor said if I got down to 300 pounds a lot of my health issues should go away but I'll still need to be on anti coagulants no matter what my weight. So I can't ever stop taking those unfortunately but a lot of my other health issues should drastically improve or go away. I haven't exercised much in 20 years either. To prove myself worthy of getting the surgery I've exercised a lot more lately than I have in a long, long time but I still don't exercise a lot because it's very difficult to do so. I hope that will drastically change with my surgery.

Hello! I’m just reaching out to ask if anyone had worsening of their AHI after gastric sleeve. Mine has gone up at least 3 points since surgery and I’m 10 weeks out. My throat is a little soar all the time now too. Has anyone found a good thing to help this? Thank you!

So I have a work around! You will need: 1. vanilla protein shake 2. sugar free pumpkin spice syrup (Jordans skinny syrup as a yummy one) 3. sugar free pumpkin spice sauce (Jordans skinny syrup as a yummy one) 4. pumpkins pie spice Recipe: 1 vanilla pre-made protein shake (such as premier or fairlife) 10 pumps of sugar free pumpkin spice syrup mix them in a jar together and you can use it as a creamer. Then I take a pre-made protein shake (about 1-2 oz) and use my frothier to make the foam THEN I assemble. 2oz on the bottom of the glass jar, ice to top it off, sugar free pumpin spice sauce, add decaf cold brew, then add your foam and sprinkle some of your pumpkin pie spice. ITS DELICIOUS! I drink one almost every day and its 36cal!

196 lbs is reasonable. My original goal was 199, and they said that was completely do-able if I was compliant with the program. Most people do end up either "overweight" or "class 1 obese" (which is not very obese...) - only about 10-15% make it to a normal BMI (my surgeon said that - and the research I've read confirms that). I told them when I hit 170 that I wanted to try for 150, and they told me that that wasn't very realistic, that not many of their patients manage to get down that low, so don't knock myself out - but I did make it (in fact, I got down to the 130s for a while - which was way too thin for me), but I did have that bounce back in year 3 that most people have. It'd be great to lose 10 lbs, but I'm OK with where I ended up. Anyway, I'm glad the appt went so well for you! You're going to be so happy you made this decision!

I felt hunger from the first week post op, it never disappeared. In fact I was starving on the first week of liquids. at 10+ months post op some days I feel ravenous (especially on days I lift very heavy) and some days I'm not interested in eating. How did/do you cope? To be very honest the first week is very hard and generally the first 6 weeks are tough not gonna lie. I hated eating soups and mushy foods. I hated the feeling of my restriction but what made it all worth it was the progress I witnessed on a daily basis. The pounds were melting off and I was so ecstatic about that. Do you have/need coping mechanisms in place- if so what? I traveled. That really helped, I traveled at 3 weeks post op, 3 months post op, 6 months and 8 months post op. I went back to exercising and took up Pilates. I regularly checked in with a friend who's had VSG before me. All these things helped me cope plus the weight melting off!! Does it get easier? It really does. You will look and feel better, you will re-learn how to eat and it'll be okay. Do you have any helpful advice for a newbie like me? Take it one day at a time. Don't be too hard on yourself. Don't compare yourself or your progress to anyone. The first few months are a gift, use them but also free your mind of food anxiety and accept that you are not perfect and you will make mistakes and learn from them. Oh and indulge in movement you enjoy (it makes a big difference, physically and mentally).

Thank you,i hope your husband is well. I can only imagine that being the caregiver that this hasn’t been easy on your bariatric journey either. Just being post op is pretty time consuming in itself (or at least it has been for me) and any big life curveball you throw in I assume makes for a pretty crazy schedule which make healthy choices that much harder. I know for me that I don’t need much of an excuse to be tempted to eat off plan so having no time to plan ahead makes the little obese voice in my head say it’s not your fault your too busy right now it’s okay to stop and have fast food just this once. But then this once turns out to be more and more often. That’s how I got to be obese was listening to that little voice too often. Luckily I did have a solid three months to get into some pretty good habits and I have really been trying to stick to them the majority of the time. I have a whole bag of healthy protein snacks that I just keep with me all the time in the car (I rotate them out so don’t stay there too long) since you rarely know when you start out what your day will end up bringing with these doctors. Or at least that’s how it has been for me. You start thinking it’s just one appointment at 8:30 am and don’t get home until late at night because you don’t even get seen until 10:30 and then they want two other things which you have to wait around to be squeezed in for those as well. I hate paying For and stoping for water so I bring a cooler with bottled water and protein shakes everyday since my surgery in case I get stuck out and don’t have time to eat on plan but now I also have my big bag of non refrigerated protein snacks with me as well. I can’t say it’s made me be 100% perfect but I’ve done far better than if I had to keep stopping on the road for sure. My favorite on the go snack is chomps pepperoni flavored turkey jerky right now. I do half a stick of that with a mozzarella string cheese or a baby bell light. Just 85 calories for 11 grams of protein and they are actually tasty. Them and the quest protein chips are my favorite go to options. Sometimes that’s lunch and then I end up eating what would’ve been lunch as a snack a few hours after dinner to get all my protein for the day since I need 90g.

I finally gained weight!!! I'm officially at 180, and I like that. I feel better, I have more energy, and I don't feel nearly so run down and out of it. Still look super thin, but it is what it is. Now I'm going to work on maintenance since this is where I want to stay. I'm ok with 2 pounds in either direction, but I definitely don't want to drop below 178 again lol I got all the way down to 170 and it was just really bad. I literally don't work out at all anymore because I'm on my feet all day working 5 days per week. I increased my calories to 1700 per day (up from 1500), my carbs to 55 net per day (up from 40 or so), my protein to 100g per day (up from 80), my healthy fats to 80g per day (up from 50), my fiber intake to 30g (10 from supplements and the rest from food - up from 20) and upped my fluids to 120 fl oz per day (up from 90 - 100). I'll add my weekend workouts back in now (nothing crazy, just core and strength but on the lighter side, not heavy) so I don't gain too much now that I've figured out how to finally gain weight lol

So I get very very very hungry right before my period and the first few days of my cycle. It is so intense that I feel that there is a hole in my stomach where the food disappears 10 minutes after I’ve eaten. It is so weird and I have never experienced this pre WLS. I have clocked 1750 calories for 4 days straight and a whopping 120 grams of protein because I can’t seem to get full. Then I just lose interest in eating for the rest of my cycle, anyone else experience this? Things I’ve eaten the past few days: Galore of burgers. Double smashed cheeseburgers, a classic burger, and a spicy crispy chicken burger. Maple buffalo shrimps Up close and personal on the spicy chicken burger. So hubby was quite taken aback at how much I ordered (knowing he’ll have to eat most of it, teaser: he did) I got excited to try everything (teaser: I didn’t). I hade around 3/4 of one half of the smash cheeseburger, and a bite of the spicy chicken burger which was soooo good but then I felt so sick and regretted eating that. Hubby ate most of the shrimps, his whole burger and my half. The rest was put in the fridge. There was also a large portion of fries which I didn’t taste.

I don’t take them because of an issue with my pancreas either. I don’t absorb protein well as a result of my gall removal. Malabsorption after gall surgery isn’t uncommon but it being for protein is more rare. (Also don’t absorb some medications either now like hormone replacement meds.) I forget to take them at times too - usually my lunch time one. I keep the bottle on the bench right in front of me to remind myself. The creons keep my protein levels at just on the border of okay. The original dose of 10 000mg 3 x a day didn't do anything so it was increased to 25 000 3 x a day which does. I don’t like having to take meds. Am lucky & very glad I only take the creons and a Nexium in the morning.

The surgery went great, I woke up feeling sick to my stomach and hurting, They gave me an anti-nausea shot with Toradol. I slept from the time they woke me up, around 1pm until about 4pm. I was finally able to hold my eyes open for more than a few seconds, I got up and used the restroom, and then they took me for a walk around the nurse station, which went well. Then the nurse sat me up for a little bit in the recliner in the room. Then I started dosing again for another two hours until my sister came back to sit overnight with me. Then they got me up to use the restroom again, we did another walk around the nurse's station, and then they put me back in bed. I worked on sipping as much water as I could. The next morning the PA & Surgeon came in early to check on me, and because I did really well they discharged me very early. So here I am sitting at home in bed, trying to get comfy. Prior to the surgery, before they put me out, they gave me a nerve block on both sides of my spine. which was a whole new experience in itself, hurt like hell. But I was literally out before I knew it, at first the only way I could describe the discomfort I felt was like I had done a billion tummy crunches and overworked myself. But now that the nerve block is wearing off, its more uncomfortable, and the gas situation is next level. LOL 🤣 But not to worry, I'm feeling a little better every day, just have to watch what I do with my mid section. It burns and hurts if I move the wrong direction, especially trying to get comfy on my bed. And getting my 10-year-old stubborn furbaby to understand he can't be in my arms right now is been hard. He won't leave my side, which is so sweet. Big thank you to everyone for the encouragement and support sent my way, it means a great deal and helped with my anxiety over the surgery. 💗💜

Yeah, it was awful. At least I could keep water and chicken broth down. I'm been working slowly to building back up to more purees again, but I definitely didn't want to risk it last week. Otherwise, I'm doing okay. Been struggling with hitting my goals the last couple of days, which I assume is because I feel not great still. But I'm listening to my body. Eating and drinking until it feels like I can't and then pausing for a while. (Obviously, not eating and drinking together, but you know what I mean.) I go for my next post-op appointment on Wednesday. That will be my 1 month check-in. I can actually feel more weight loss in my legs and places around my stomach. I'm curious to see how much weight I do end up losing after all this. Like, I noticed my weight loss in how my clothes fit before my 10-day post-op. But I can actually feel it in places on my body when touching them now, so that's going to be interesting. We go on vacation 10/6 and we've already talked about my clothing situation. Even my bras need to be replaced at this point. But since I don't go anywhere except the doctors appointments right now, I'm going to make what I have currently work for the next couple of weeks. And then on our way down to our vacation spot on the 6th, we're going to stop by the outlet store and get me some new clothes and get properly fitted for the correct size bra. That way I have the most accurate fit for clothes for a couple of months. lol I still need to catch up on reading the forums. Hopefully I can get to that this weekend.

@BigSue is right on the mark. I will also add that not everyone reaches their goal. And that’s okay. The win is you’ve lost weight and are healthier than you were. Remember that your goal weight is an arbitrary number you chose not the weight your body settles at & is happiest at as your new set point the surgery has gifted you. The point people’s weight stabilises at is different person to person. You do tend to lose the most in the first 6-12 months but people can lose for another year. Not everyone but some do. It took about 17months for my weight to finally stabilise. Though I reached goal at 6 months I kept losing for another 11months & at a very slow rate. (Took 6 months to lose 31kg then 11 months to lose the final 11kg.) Your rate of loss will get slower and slower as you near your final stabilised weight. It could be ounces a week or even a month near the end. So you may not have finished losing yet. But do check your calorie intake. If you’re maintaining at the calories you’re consuming now you’ll have to eat less to lose more. And you will have to eat fewer calories than you are now if you want to maintain at a lower weight than you are now. Another consideration is you’ve likely built up a lot of muscle with the activity you do. Muscle does way a little more than fat and it will change your physical shape somewhat too which may explain some of the clothing size discrepancies you’re noticed. There are lots of averages and generalisations around weight loss (how fast, how much, when things will happen, how many calories you need, how much activity, etc.). We’re too different for the sane hard and fast rules to apply to everyone, You just have to find what works and is right for you, your lifestyle and your body. PS: Another average, but exercise only accounts for about 10% of the weight you are to lose. Better to look at exercise for the benefits it brings to your cardiac health, muscle strength, flexibility, bone density, etc. & not so much for weight loss.

It's been 5 years since my gastric bypass. Have done fairly well in staying in my safe zone. My goal weight was 170 initially although mentally I wanted to put 150. After starting at almost 400 lbs, I wanted to see if I could even hit 170 which I did. For 2 days about 2 years ago I briefly 'dipped' down to 167! LOL. Fast forward to 9 months ago, I hit a rough patch and went up to 180'ish. I knew some folks going to a local place that compounded their own semiglutide if I understood them correctly. After asking repeated questions about whether taking this would disrupt the supply to diabetics who needed the medicine, I decided to try it. I was never one of those fortunate ones who after bariatic surgery lost the desire to eat (grehlin?). Even though I obviously had the 'restriction' kicking in due to the pouch size, I had to white-knuckle SOMETIMES during the first 6 months. Part of me feels like I cheated by introducing semiglutide but there are also people who think that weight loss surgery is the 'easy way out'. I can tell you that none of those people, in my opinion, have ever had the surgery. I actually really like the semiglutide, it removes the..trying to think of it as I saw on someone else's post, it is the first thing that has ever removed the mental 'food chatter' in my head. Sometimes I will skip weeks on the injections and I'm already making plans to taper off now that I'm down to 163. I realize I will need to be able to then try to maintain in my new 'safety zone of watching for a weight gain of more than 5 to 10 lbs over current weight. I like to nip those things in the bud. Just curious if anyone else post weight loss surgery (by years) has brought semiglutide into the picture whether to break up a stall, or to get weight gain that has started to creep up halted.

it took me 4 months (and ~15 lbs) to figure out my maintenance calories were. i also had to get over my fear of gaining all my weight back and actually start eating MORE. maintenance level calories are VERY individual, and vary greatly from person to person. and even then, it varies greatly form time to time for the SAME person. 4-ish months after achieving goal, i finally figured out that i needed 1800 cals a day to stop losing weight... AT THAT TIME. over the years, this amount has changed depending on my activity level. luckily, i am anal and i track my food intake and weight DAILY so i am armed with data to figure out what i need at any point in time. i am 6 years post op now, and these days i need about 2300-2500 to maintain my current weight (i exercise alot). had i continued to stay at 1800 cals from the before days i would have shrunk beyond what i wanted. soooooo....long story short: your maintenance calories will change depending on your output and input, on your sleep patterns, overall health, stress levels, age, genetics, etc....its up to you to notice what affects you and act upon it. so, so, so, so, many times i read folks on here saying "i gained/lost weight and i just don't know why!". the answer is PAY ATTENTION....you will know why. P.S. i do know that "normal" people don't need this level of attention to stay at a healthy weight. i also know that i am NOT a "normal" person. i mean, i got to a BMI of 43 (from BMI 23), in 10 years. it takes more "effort" for me to stay at a healthy weight that a "regular" person. so i do what i am willing to do.

Just checking in for now. I have a lot of posts to catch up on, but that will be when I'm home. Surgery went great, other than starting my period literally 10 minutes before anesthesia came in. I'm having trouble drinking water, so I will be staying another night in the hospital. Now if I could just get the gas pain to leave...

Totally agree with Bypass2Freedom here. I couldn't really do much around the house until about 2 weeks post op and had to rein myself in a bit. Plenty of rest is the order of the day, but did manage to get out for a simple 1 mile walk around the day 10 mark.

They were around my ankles just walking the 10 feet from the camera to the chair.

I did not exercise while I was losing. No gym membership. No walking miles. No cycling. Nothing. Didn’t hinder my weight loss. However I did up my everyday activity. Parked further away from where I was going. Walked up escalators. Made multiple trips up & down my stairs instead of making one or two trips to bring up the groceries, etc. Or go down to take or the rubbish and then go back down to get the mail instead of doing it in one trip. Saw a program by the late Dr Michael Mosley that compared the benefits of doing a block of 30 mins of exercise a day vs doing 3 or 4 bursts of 5 -10 minutes totalling 30mins of exercise a day. The difference was minimal. They called it exercise snacking and it’s what I started doing about 20months ago. I incorporate a number of yoga based stretches, resistance band exercises and exercises to improve flexibility across my day. Honestly I wouldn’t burn 30 calories but I have more defined & toned muscles in my arms and legs and my flexibility has improved which is what I wanted. I don’t find it a chore and I sort of enjoy it (something I never really down with any other exercise except yoga). I do it, or a modified version if I’m away, every day bar the odd day once or twice a month. Exercise contributes only about 10% of any weight you’re to lose. However, there are other benefits to your health and well being. You just have to find something you enjoy doing & doesn’t feel like a chore or a punishment.

Yeah covid was a bit of a kick haha, but I started to feel a little ill out there, but just kept pushing on! My cats definitely did miss us, and we are glad to have them home! Yeah I didn't even imagine I could do that many! It now feels weird being home and not out walking, but I thought my body could do with resting and recovering 😂10-15k per day is amazing - I need to be doing that!! Hahaha, I love that you call them dogs too! You're gonna love it! Definitely somewhere cold...that is my ideal too 🤣 Oooh okay I am glad I am not the only one literally feeling nothing from alcohol! I agree that I just feel it's a waste of calories and money, so I doubt I'll try again! Very strange. Don't get me wrong, he was enjoying all the extra food 😂 But he was excited to come home where I could control my portion sizes and he didn't feel the need to eat my leftovers haha. Thank you!

A few things stood out to me about your post. 1137 calories is oddly specific. Since most people can't be that accurate with their food intake, I'm curious why you used this specific number? Can you elaborate? For example, most food logging software is only accurate within about 10% plus or minus, even if you are really meticulous with weighing everything. Keep in mind as well that if you are eating very many processed foods, Manufacturers are given a pretty wide latitude in terms of the listed calories, so those aren't near as accurate is you might think. Most people drastically underestimate their overall calorie consumption by as much as 20 to 25%, even if they are logging their food. There are a number of reasons, but things like guestimating certain amounts, using "average" calorie amounts for some items, and not counting certain types of foods are common errors. In short, you may actually be eating a lot more than you think. I'm also curious how you came to the conclusion that 1137 calories per day is the proper amount for you to lose weight? It's entirely possible your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR), is anywhere between say 900 and 1700 calories per day. While BMR is just one component of your overall calorie burn per day, it's typically the largest single component, even if you are super active. If you are only working out 3 days a week, I'd not put you into the super active category. My point is that while it's not super likely, it is possible that you are actually eating at maintenance right now. Especially if you are eating more than you think. (See points one and two.) Scales are a REALLY terrible way to track success since they don't account for variations in other tissues besides fat. Water, which is a huge component of your overall weight can fluctuate dramatically day-to-day. Ask yourself honestly, are your clothes fitting differently? There is a pretty good chance here that you have been losing fat, but made up for it by retaining water in your muscles. This is super common in people when they work out, especially when they start a new fitness routine. There's also a small possibility you are actually adding some muscle mass, especially if you are new to strength training. Muscle is much more dense than fat, so if you gain muscle and lose fat, your clothes will fit better, but you might weigh about the same. My advice is going to sound counter-intuitive, but I'd suggest adding 200-300 calories per day to your diet. Preferably lean protein. Do this for 4 weeks and then reassess where you're at. If you are really currently eating at maintenance (as you might think from weeks of no loss), then you would be expected to gain a tiny bit in the next 4 weeks. If it's as I suspect and you're actually eating too little right now, eating a little more may actually up your metabolic rate as well as change your hormone balance. This could be just the thing to kickstart some fat loss in the next 4 weeks. Best of luck whatever you decide.

This week, my doctor has restricted my diet even further (from 1200 calories to 800) to make sure that the liver really shrinks so he said Slimfast Shakes and Weight Watchers soups because it's pre-made whereas the shakes I've been making it might be harder to get the right measurements when I'm cutting calories from what I've been doing for the past 10 weeks. I guess it makes sense. Honestly, those slim fast shakes are the worst. The only one that tastes Ok (and not in that British deprecating way where we say "it's alright" when me mean it's pretty good) is the chocolate one. The rest? How do Strawberry, banana or cookies and cream shakes end up with an almost chicken-y aftertaste? How is this possible? Is this some kind of pact with Satan? Long digression, I know. But it made me dream of food last night. Which I have never done before. I dreamed all my family had gone to all the fast food places and I couldn't eat any but I ended up having a bowl of porridge from KFCs Breakfast menu? Talk about head hunger vs actual hunger!

this was pretty obvious to me too. ( i noticed the original question was posed in june, and almost 3 months later, the objections remain) so here's a different angle: maybe just accept that traditional/dedicated exercise just isn't for you? i know lots of people who don't partake in dedicated exercise (who, may i add are "normal" sized) and seem to lead perfectly happy lives. exercise isn't everyone's cup of tea, sure its definitely an added bonus if one does it regularly for both mental and physical health, but you are not going to do it unless you actually want to do it. so why force it? just like the decision to get weight loss surgery, you are ready when you're ready....you just need a compelling enough reason to do it (which u don't have at the moment, it seems) maybe you'll feel differently next month, next year, maybe in 10 years , or maybe never. and thats ok, it is what it is. BUT... if you ever decide to get on the exercise train for reals, there are alot of us on here who would be ready and willing to help! good luck! ❤️

Today is day 1 of the clear liquid diet to prep for my surgery on Friday! It's... going lol. Definitely harder than I thought it would be, but I'm making it through. I'm flabbergasted that we are halfway through August, and my surgery is on the 16th and then 10 days later, I return to school to work on my masters degree. Now I'm wondering what I was thinking. LOL

Home from my post-op appointment. I can start purees tomorrow, as well as my vitamins. All of my staples are out and the incisions look great, but it does look like I started having contact dermatitis with the staples. But the doctor reassured me that it was not infection. 10 days ago I had surgery, and I have lost 26lbs. I can't remember the last time I was under 300lbs. I still feel like crying tears of joy. I was so worried that I was going to do something to screw myself up, even though I knew it was just anxiety. And this was the first real tangible thing for me.

I had a bypass over 15 years ago and at first it was successful over 10 stone loss and I felt amazing. My mobility has decreased dramatically nd I've been diagnosed with fibromyalgia, I've gained all my weight back and more. My pouch im sure is huge, I get terrible reflux and I'm thinking a revision. Has anyone successfully had a NHS revision? What was criteria? What did the op entail? Also, anyone gone private for this in uk? What was the cost? Im so confused but I know to help my mobility I need to lose weight 😩 Any help is appreciated